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Missouri football and head coach Eli Drinkwitz are heading to Alabama with a No. 21 ranking in tow. Saturday's tilt in Tuscaloosa presents the Tigers with a prime opportunity to ascend up the top 25 and hit three straight victories.
But their winning streak would've never sparked if it weren't for one embarrassing loss earlier in October. That very game was on the mind of Drinkwitz when speaking with ESPN's Paul Finebaum on Wednesday.
Appearing on Finebaum's show ahead of the showdown with No. 15 Alabama, Drinkwitz addressed what really went wrong in the 41-10 defeat against Texas A&M on Oct. 5.
“I think we came off of a bye week and I think as a coaching staff, we had way too much scheme in. We coaches tried to win the game from the press box and the reality is football is won by players on the field,” Drinkwitz said.
The fifth-year Tigers coach is 46-23 overall and has gotten Missouri to become bowl-eligible for the fourth straight season. However, he admitted the road trip to College Station became “a great lesson” for the veteran head coach.
“Players playing fast wins football games. And so I think it was a great lesson for me. I take total responsibility for that and I think hopefully we’ll carry that lesson into this game,” Drinkwitz said.
Missouri has trounced UMass 45-3 and edged SEC rival Auburn 21-17 since that 31-point drubbing against the Aggies, raising the Tigers' record to 6-1 in the process.
Missouri football to face reeling Alabama team
Drinkwitz and the Tigers are soon facing a Crimson Tide team that's witnessed panic from their fan base.
Alabama has already lost twice this season. Its latest arrived in Knoxville as Tennessee stunned ‘Bama 24-17, which saw the Tide get outscored 14-3 during the third quarter after leading at halftime.
One more loss assures the Tide will have their first three-loss season since the 2010 campaign.
Alabama went 2011 to 2023 losing no more than two games under former head coach Nick Saban. In the case of the 2013, 2014, and 2023 seasons, the second loss arrived in the postseason.
Now, first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer has immediately struggled. His first Tide team is a loss away from becoming even an afterthought for the SEC title game. Fortunately, the betting odds are working in DeBoer's and Alabama's favor before Saturday, with BetMGM making the Tide a 14-point favorite as of Wednesday.
Saturday's contest at Bryant-Denny Stadium will be only the eighth matchup in series history despite being SEC representatives. Except Alabama has won its last five meetings against the Tigers.
A Saban-led Alabama team rolled to the 38-19 romp in Columbia last year. Missouri and Drinkwitz have a chance to earn their first victory over Alabama since 1975, which was a regular season contest played at Birmingham. The Tigers are 2-5 all-time against Alabama.
